Getting Started - A Mini Wiki Tutorial

The MediaWiki software is extremely easy to use. Viewing pages is self-explanatory, but adding new pages and making edits to existing content is extremely easy and intuitive as well. Providing a consistent user interface helps to provide this ease of use.

First, before you can make any changes or additions to Muff's Modules Wiki content, you'll need to create an account in the wiki software. Unfortunately the wiki cannot currently use your existing Muff's Forum account. To create a new account, simply click the Login/Create Account link in the upper right-hand corner of any page within the wiki.

The administration will need to confirm your account & email address before you can have full control over the wiki. It's best to post a message in the "Post here if you register for the Wiki...." thread at the discussion forum, to let the administrators know that you've registered for the wiki. If you have registered but have not yet become confirmed, you'll only be able to create new wiki pages, but not able to edit existing content.

Editing the wiki
On any wiki page at the very top of the page, you will see the tabs page, discussion, edit, history, move and watch. Clicking the edit tab opens the editor, a large text entry box in the middle of the page. This is where to enter plain text. Very little formatting code (known as "wiki markup") is required, unlike regular HTML and CSS. At the top of this text entry box is a row of buttons with small icons on them. Holding the mouse cursor over an icon displays a tool-tip telling you its function. These buttons make it very simple to use the formatting features of the wiki software. You can achieve the same effect by typing the correctwiki code, however using the buttons makes it very simple and also eases the process of learning the correct code syntax. Avoid using HTML and CSS, use wiki markup to format articles.

Creating links and adding pages
The third and fourth buttons are "Internal link" and "External link" respectively.

The third button creates an internal link (aka wikilink) which, in the editor, has the format Buchla and Associates ie. surrounded by double square brackets. Only the first occurence of a link on the page needs to be the link, any further uses of the word/phrase can be in plain text. If the page doesn't exist already the link will be in shown with red text. Following a red internal link opens up the editor window for creating that page within the wiki structure. Linking articles in a structured way is the preferred method of adding new pages to the wiki. Use ordinary sentence case for article titles, except for names.

Using the fourth button will make an external link to a page elsewhere on the Internet. This has the form Muff's Modules & More in the editor, ie. a URL, followed by a space, followed by linking text in single square brackets.

Every article is part of a network of connected topics. Establishing such connections via internal links is a good way to establish context. Each article should contain links to more general subjects that serve to categorize the article. Only create relevant links. When you write a new article, make sure that one or more other pages link to it. There should always be an unbroken chain of links leading from the Main Page to every article in the wiki.

Always preview your edits before saving them and also check any links you have made to confirm that they do link to where you expect.

Lists
In an article, significant items should normally be mentioned naturally within the text rather than merely listed. Where a "bulleted list" is required each item/line of the list is preceded by an asterix ( * ) or for indenting a sublist use two asterixes ** ). For numbered lists use a hash sign ( # ) and double or triple, etc. hash signs for further subsections.

Headings
Headings help clarify articles and create a structure shown in the table of contents.

Headings are hierarchical. The article's title uses a level 1 heading, so you should start with level 2 heading ( ==Heading== ) and follow it with lower levels, ( ==Subheading==, ===Subsubheading=== , and so forth). Whether extensive subtopics should be kept on one page or moved to individual pages is a matter of personal judgment.

Headings should not be links. This is because headings in themselves introduce information and let the reader know what subtopics will be presented; links should be incorporated in the text of the section.

Except for names, use ordinary sentence case for headings, don't do all words with initial caps.

Images
The sixth button will enable to insert an image (or other media type) into the text. Relevant images add interest to the article. For a large selection of freely usable media see Wikimedia Commons. To fulfill the free license requirements, please read the Reuse guide. For more info see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Images

Standard appendices
Information that can follow after the body of the article is as follows.
 * A list of works created by the subject of the article
 * See also, a list of internal links to related articles
 * References and notes
 * Further reading, a list of recommended relevant books, articles, or other publications that have not been used as sources
 * External links, a list of recommended relevant websites that have not been used as sources

Use a sandbox page
Use the sandbox page to play around and experiment with editing. It isn't for formal wiki info, just a place to play and explore. Any content here won't be preserved. You can also create your own sandbox area by appending "/sandbox" to the URL for your user page, or click here. Your own sandbox is where to rough out articles until they're ready for posting. Don't do articles in rough in the main wiki. Sandboxes will be indexed by search engines like any other page.

Structure of the article
Good articles start with a brief lead section introducing the topic. The lead section should come above the first header. Include the article title in bold within the first sentence or so, to define it.

Article size
Articles should be kept relatively short. Say what needs saying, but do not overdo it. Articles should aim to be less than 30KB worth of prose. When articles grow past this amount of readable text, they can be broken up into smaller articles to improve readability and ease of editing. The headed sub-section should be retained, with a concise version of what has been removed under an italicized link to the new article. Each article on a subtopic should be written as its own stand-alone article. Avoid creating pages with large amounts of unbroken text, break it down into easily digestible sections, this makes it easier for the reader. Don't create multiple small linked articles when they can all go just as well on one page under separate headings.

Paragraphs should be short enough to be readable, but long enough to develop an idea. To increase readability, overly long paragraphs should be split up. One-sentence paragraphs are unusually emphatic, and should be used sparingly.

Style and tone
Assume readers are reading the article to learn. It is possible that the reader knows nothing about the subject, the article needs to explain the subject fully. Articles, and other content, should be written in clear English to be clear and understandable. Don't use jargon unless linking to an article explaining the meaning. In the same sentence, expand on facts that may not be obvious to to the reader.

Write from a third person perspective. In an encyclopedia the writer should be invisible to the reader. Articles should be written from a neutral point of view leaving the reader to make their own mind up. Don't use peacock or weasel words, these are words that add opinion without really backing it up. Words/phrases such as "an important", "one of the best", "the most influential", "is widely regarded as", "is widely considered", "it has been suggested", "is widely regarded as", "it has been said that", etc. If you do include statements like these, provide a reference to verify why this is the case.

Be concise
Articles should use only necessary words. This doesn't requires that the writer make all sentences short, or that avoids all detail and treats the subject only in outline. Reduce sentences to the essentials. Wordiness does not add credibility to articles. The most readable articles contain no irrelevant information. While writing an article, if you find yourself digressing into a side subject, consider placing the additional information into a different article. Then provide a link to the other article, so that readers who are interested in the side topic have the option of digging into it, but readers who are not interested will not be distracted by it.

Verifiability
An encyclopedia is a collection of facts. Write material that is true, check your facts. Provide sources that can be used to verify your facts. This is a crucial part of citing good sources. Even if you think you know something, you have to provide references anyway to prove to the reader that the fact is true. Sometimes material that seems to naturally stem from sourced claims doesn't do so when checked.

Always provide a bulleted list of verifiable references for what you write. Under a level 2 heading called "References", at the end of the article. Here in the same list you can also include footnotes, if there are any.

Talk pages
Don't leave visible notes and comments in the article. At the top of every article, the second tab entitled "discussion", opens the articles "Talk page". This is where to dicuss the article or leave notes for other editors. Remember to sign you posts on talk pages, (second from last button). In articles to leave notes or explanations use HTML commenting. These will be hidden except from other editors. An HTML comment has the form:.